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January 22 – January 28

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The influence of Monster Hunter in Japan is difficult to overstate. It single-handedly kept the PSP afloat against the 3DS and has been rivaled in sales only by juggernauts like Pokémon and Dragon Quest. The Monster Hunter series is praised for its meaty combat, hugely varied weapon classes, and supremely satisfying player progression systems. Despite all this, Monster Hunter is notorious for being unwelcoming to new players, so it has struggled to achieve anything more than modest success abroad. Sparse tutorials, dull early fetch quests, exclusivity to handheld platforms, and a virtual necessity to consult resources outside of the game have relegated Monster Hunter to “I don’t have time for that sh*t” status for most western audiences.

Capcom is finally looking to change that stigma with Monster Hunter World. 4k visuals and dual-analog controls are in place to entice the anti-handheld crowd, while full voice acting and a 60-hour campaign will offer something for the story-hungry solo adventurer. World is filled with in-game tutorials to introduce new systems and quality-of-life changes to modernize old ones. The game’s director, Ryozo Tsujimoto, has been insistent that the core DNA of World has not been compromised in pursuit of broader appeal. Instead, it will onboard new players with better tutorials and a smoother transition into the deeper Monster Hunter experience.

If the three beta weekends have been any indication, Monster Hunter World might finally be the one! This is where Monster Hunter finally breaks through in the west!

Or maybe none of these sweeping changes will matter at all. Maybe it’ll struggle to sell a million copies and fade into obscurity two weeks after launch. I guess we’ll find out soon. Either way, come Friday, you can find me beating a monster with a bagpipe and using its fur to make some stylish leggings.

Chris "C" Cesarano

I think it's about time I be honest with myself and confess that an indie game's visual style is going to be the first step in its appeal to me. Most artistic or modern minimalist designs get a shrug from me, but that gorgeous Super Nintendo-style sprite art has me howling like that perverted wolf in all the old cartoons. Couple that with some gorgeous hand-drawn animation, and I'm interested in your game regardless of genre.

So it's a good thing Iconoclasts is a descendant of the Metroid franchise, because it had my heart at frame one. I've intentionally avoided watching more than the trailer to preserve what surprise I can. It has tricky platforming combined with melee-action, contending to be this year's Hollow Knight. Only instead of a dour and somber Dark Souls (take a drink) mood, Iconoclasts smacks a vibrant wrench of color and bombast into your face.

Best of all, it's releasing on Nintendo Switch! I excitedly pick Iconoclasts as my Game of the Week.

Greg “DoubtingThomas396” Decker

I grew to love the Monster Hunter series on the 3DS, and quite frankly I can’t imagine playing it on anything but a portable system. It’s a game that needs a suspend mode so that I can play it for as long as I want to when I want to. So for me, the release of Monster Hunter World is really just a craw-sticking reminder that Nintendo isn’t releasing a proper Monster Hunter game on the Switch in North America. I’m very happy for all of the people who want to see what a rathalos looks like in 4K, but that isn’t how I want to play the game.

Fortunately, there’s other interesting stuff out there to look at this week. Iconoclasts is a “platform adventure” game about an unlicensed mechanic flouting shop rules to ply her trade and help people. She’ll do that by solving puzzles and jumping on things. Sounds like a winner to me, but it’s already gotten props this week, so let’s move on.

As a fan of Viscera Cleanup Detail and also a great connoisseur of puns, Critical Mess immediately captures my attention. Sure, all you do is shovel trash down a hole with a literal shovel, but that can be cathartic in its own right. Still, a silly pun and a premise that sounds terrible on paper may get me to buy a game, but not to pick it as my game of the week.

No, to get my game of the week, you have to flatter my nerd cred. Tesla Vs Lovecraft does just that. You play as the eccentric visionary as he dons a custom-built electrical mech suit to do battle with betentacled abominations from the cephalopodic imagination of H.P. Lovecraft. Sure, it’s a dual-stick shooter, but it’s a dual-stick shooter by the people who made Crimsonland, and the premise seizes the imagination of this electrical engineer by both lips. Tesla Vs Lovecraft wins my nod for game of the week in a walk.

Felix “They see me dodge-rollin” Threepaper

The more I read about Monster Hunter: World, the more I realise that Horizon: Zero Dawn is Baby’s First Monster Hunter. Given that I’ve been enjoying the HADES out of Horizon: Zero Dawn, I may finally be ready to appreciate Monster Hunter: World, after bouncing off of previous titles. Dyni gives a good recommendation.

If you love the idea of hunting, but balk at having to hunt more than one type of creature, there’s Wild Turkey Hunter. Otherwise, there’s DLC for Assassin’s Creed: Origins – real DLC that stays on your hard drive, not some timed-event thingy. It’s on my “Later” pile.

I’m kinda surprised Doubtingthomas396 isn’t excited about Railway Empire. The Tropico devs have made the first big railway-construction sim since Sid Meier’s Railroads! way back in aught-six. It’s set in the US during its railway-building years and on top of trying to out-tycoon your competitors, it has a feature where you can just sit in one of your trains and enjoy the ride.

And then there’s The Aquatic Adventure of the Last Human, which is kinda like those hipster cafés with pretentiously long names, but the coffee is still pretty good. The marine atmosphere is all serene and beautiful, until it isn’t because of a boss fight. Think “underwater Shadow of the Colossus”. My GOTW.

Comments

I'm really looking forward to 01-23! I hope it follows up nicely on the promising gameplay tweaks of 01-22 (which is also releasing this week on platforms it previously skipped). I'm a little concerned that the newer, shinier graphics of 01-23 have compromised the spot-on indie aesthetic of its predecessors, but visuals aren't everything. For the tight controls, uncompromising sense of purpose, and dedicated mindf*ck the series is known for, 01-23 is my game of the week.

I'm really looking forward to 01-23! I hope it follows up nicely on the promising gameplay tweaks of 01-22 (which is also releasing this week on platforms it previously skipped). I'm a little concerned that the newer, shinier graphics of 01-23 have compromised the spot-on indie aesthetic of its predecessors, but visuals aren't everything. For the tight controls, uncompromising sense of purpose, and dedicated mindf*ck the series is known for, 01-23 is my game of the week.

Celeste is releasing on several platforms this week. It appears to be a challenging 2D platforming adventure, make by the folks who did TowerFall. With 600 single screen challenges to face, it seems like a good fit for the Switch. You can try an early prototype here, but I imagine it will be easier with a controller.

I'm really looking forward to 01-23! I hope it follows up nicely on the promising gameplay tweaks of 01-22 (which is also releasing this week on platforms it previously skipped). I'm a little concerned that the newer, shinier graphics of 01-23 have compromised the spot-on indie aesthetic of its predecessors, but visuals aren't everything. For the tight controls, uncompromising sense of purpose, and dedicated mindf*ck the series is known for, 01-23 is my game of the week.

Actually, 01-18 was the best of the 01 games.

Nintendo Switch Friend Code: SW-3988-0736-8767The Magic Hour Show Podcast |clockworkhouse: Is a girl not entitled to the dreams of her mind?
No, says the shoptroll, they belong to the pile.

I dont see Iconclasts releasing on the Switch.. am I missing something..

No, I made an assumption and don't know where I got it. I could have sworn a Switch logo was attached to the trailer I saw but no where have I found evidence that the game gets a Switch release whatsoever.

So I'll probably buy it on PS4, then buy it again on Switch if it ports over.

I didn't even know what this was until seeing a few reviews and watching a trailer last night. It sounds quite interesting, and I'm seeing a lot of "best survival game ever" claims being thrown around. I'll probably pick it up later this year.

I didn't even know what this was until seeing a few reviews and watching a trailer last night. It sounds quite interesting, and I'm seeing a lot of "best survival game ever" claims being thrown around. I'll probably pick it up later this year.

It's what No Man's Sky wants to be, just underwater instead of in space.

NSMike wrote:

How did I live before digital distribution of old, cheap games?

MilkmanDanimal wrote:

You did live before digital distribution of old, cheap games. Now you just play games.

The Tropico devs have made the first big railway-construction sim since Sid Meier’s Railroads! way back in aught-six. It’s set in the US during its railway-building years and on top of trying to out-tycoon your competitors, it has a feature where you can just sit in one of your trains and enjoy the ride.

The Tropico devs are Haemimont Games. Railway Empire was developed by Gaming Minds. Gaming Minds developed Grand Ages Medieval, Patrician IV +DLC , and Port Royale 3 all of which have only mixed ratings on Steam, and are criticized in reviews for being extremely shallow. They walked away from their most recent release, Grand Ages Medieval, leaving it unfinished, according to some players.

I would exercise caution with Railway Empire. I would *love* another great railroad economy game, but I really want to see it done right. The devil is in the details with these kinds of games.

The Tropico devs have made the first big railway-construction sim since Sid Meier’s Railroads! way back in aught-six. It’s set in the US during its railway-building years and on top of trying to out-tycoon your competitors, it has a feature where you can just sit in one of your trains and enjoy the ride.

The Tropico devs are Haemimont Games. Railway Empire was developed by Gaming Minds. Gaming Minds developed Grand Ages Medieval, Patrician IV +DLC , and Port Royale 3 all of which have only mixed ratings on Steam, and are criticized in reviews for being extremely shallow. They walked away from their most recent release, Grand Ages Medieval, leaving it unfinished, according to some players.

I would exercise caution with Railway Empire. I would *love* another great railroad economy game, but I really want to see it done right. The devil is in the details with these kinds of games.

He was probably alluding to Kalypso being the publisher, which doesn't make things any better.

NSMike wrote:

How did I live before digital distribution of old, cheap games?

MilkmanDanimal wrote:

You did live before digital distribution of old, cheap games. Now you just play games.

Well, fortunately the reviews I've seen for Railway Empire have been pretty good, despite the forum griping. I'm still in wait-and-see mode, though. And I'm glad it was highlighted here, or I never would have known about it.